Note that The Zoo has never been to Little Ray's so we'll let Sandi (from Canadian Blog House) let you know what it's all about.

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I love animals. As a child, I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up (this is written in one of my old school books). I never did make it to "vet school", however, my passion for animals remains the same. I especially love "critters", animals that make many people a little (or a lot!) squeamish. I adore mice, rats, chinchillas, hedgehogs...and chameleons. In fact, the first real chameleon I ever saw was at one of my favourite zoos - Little Ray's Reptile Zoo here in Ottawa, Canada. It was at Little Ray's where I got to see a chameleon out of its cage and being hand fed. I found it fascinating to watch. Let me tell you, their tongues move at lightning speed!

If you have ever been to Little Ray's Reptile Zoo, you'll know that one of their regular features is their feeding shows. These feeding shows allow the audience to sit up close and personal with various creatures, learn a bit about them, and watch them being fed. I've seen Little Ray's staff feed snakes, turtles, chameleons... and even alligators! To enhance the "animal experience", Little Ray's even encourages the audience members to touch (and sometimes hold!) the animals. This is where I (the arachnophobe ) got my first chance to hold a tarantula. This is one thing I thought I would NEVER do. You can read more about Little Ray's Reptile Zoo in my previous blog about them here.

Did you know that Little Ray's Reptile Zoo offers some fantastic programs and shows outside and away from their zoo?

In 2013, Little Ray's Zoo Camps are set to become their best camps ever. Kids attending the interactive camps will get a chance to learn about the care and maintenance of the animals, and so much more.

They will even get to learn about the plants and animals that live in the forests around Ottawa. For those of you living in the Ottawa area, but living far from the Little Ray's Reptile Zoo location, they have added a second camp in conjunction with Dovercourt Rec Centre and the Midway - centrally located in Westboro.

By the way, for those of you living in the Hamilton, Ontario region, you are in luck! Little Ray's Reptile Zoo has just opened it's newest zoo on June 8th in Hamilton. Be sure to visit them! They have an opening month special - $9.50 per person from June 8-July 15th.

What young child wouldn't love to spend a week learning all about great creatures and having the chance to interact with them? This camp sounds pretty fantastic to me! I wonder if Little Ray's would allow this "big kid" to sneak into the camp.

4 comments:

When I was a kid we owned a cottage on what seemed like a remote island. We later moved there and it still seems a bit remote, but less so. I loved packing up the van and canoe and heading over for weeks at a time, sometimes with a friend in tow. Now that I am a parent myself I hope that my kids have friends who will take them away for a week of fun and sun - what a deal!

I used to go on a canoe trip through the Anglican Church in Ottawa with a group called Summer Adventurers. We would spend 1-2 weeks living off what we carried on our backs, canoeing and portaging from one spot to the next and camping in the middle of nowhere in Algonquin park or along the Madawaska/Mississippi. One year (I was probably 13 or 14) we ended up camping really close to the boys' group and so we had them join our camp for supper and the camp fire and after they returned to their camp site we spent the next hour or so singing camp songs back and forth over the water. It was so much fun! I hope my boys will have the chance to have similar experiences.

this would be great for my granddaughter it would be very educational for her to learn about the wild animal in their habitat and it's a great idea that they have a camp out there i wish they had more things for kids like this elsewhere